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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. cell — in biology
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. shower — rain
  8. shower — to wash
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. capital — money
  11. vault — a safe
  12. suit — in cards
  13. pitch — completely
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. content — the amount
  19. capital — a city
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. cell — a phone
  23. suit — to fit
  24. suit — clothes

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com